The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would rescind the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries or Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report).  The proposed rule leaves in place the requirement for such establishments to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses).  The proposed rule also requires these establishments to submit their Employer Identification Number (EIN) electronically along with their data submissions.

OSHA contends that the proposed rule better protects workers’ sensitive information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.  OSHA also believes that the current rule places an unjustified reporting burden on establishments.  The deadline for electronic submissions of OSHA Forms 300 and 301 for calendar year 2017 was July 1, 2018, and the deadline will be March 2 in subsequent years.  OSHA is not currently accepting Form 300 or 301 data, and will not enforce the deadlines for these forms during the rulemaking process without further notice.

OSHA is seeking comments on the proposed rule, which must be submitted by September 28, 2018.  Comments may be submitted electronically, by fax, by mail, by hand delivery, or by a messenger/courier service.  A link to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which contains specific instructions for submitting comments to OSHA, can be found here.

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